Testimony : Febah Mathew [2nd Prize Winner of BibleBee Competition]
The Word of God in my heart
I've been participating in the National Bible Bee for nine years now, and over the years I've learned between 6000-8000 verses.By God's providence, my parents had taught me and my sister since we were very young to memorize chapters and books of the Bible, which we would recite at home and at church and at conferences. Because they put in the time and effort to teach us to learn God's word, when the Bible Bee started in 2009, my sister and I were excited to participate. But the excitement didn't last long: the first year was really difficult for us. I was 10 years old, and we had around a 1000 verses to learn, (and my older sister had over 1600 verses to learn that year . With my mom's constant effort in teaching me and revising with me, I learned maybe half of the verses and I was very certain that I didn't want to do it again. But when we went to the competition, my parents and I were inspired to see many yound kids there having spent most of their summer time in studying and memorizing the Word of God. The whole atmosphere in Washington DC that year with hundreds of families, joining together from across the country, around the Word of God to proclaim it passionately, was so inspiring to all of us. And so we came back, year after year, by God's grace.
Over the years I have spent thousands of hours memorizing and studying the Bible. We also came to know many of the particpants and their families closer, over the years. They were actually communicating in different ways why all this mattered for their daily lives. They made a big impact in my life also.
Over the years God showed me what I was missing. I felt like God was dealing with me through His Word more and more, to save my soul. What I found out was that this was more than just a mental exercise, or something to do so my parents would be happy, or so everyone in church would tell me how smart I was. I found out for myself that the word of God is living and active, sharper than a two-edged scord; that it discerned the thoughts and intents of the heart; that it showed me who I was, and who God is. And I experienced for myself that it was impossible to spend all those hours in the living word of God and be satisfied in not being changed by it.
The best part of being a part of the Bible Bee and studying the Scripture was that the entire time, the whole emphasis was always on the meaning and application of the Bible. My parents always told us that memorizing the Scripture was not as important as living out what it said. In our study, it was always emphasized that more than memorizing bits of information to recite in a competition, we should know why all of this mattered. I truly believe that spending all this time studying the Bible was the most important thing for my spiritual growth over the years.
With regards to the BibleBee Game Show which was another event put together by the same Organization for National Telecast/Webcast , and winning 2nd place in the Final, that whole experience was really just God's grace and mercy poured out on me. I am by
no means the most competitive contestant out there. I have known many other kids for many years and I personally knew how much they had studied, for many hours every day for several months. I didn't have any more intelligence or ability than anyone else to come ahead of them. Even being able to do all of this and study was because of God's grace, and because my parents had cultivated that habit of memorizing Scripture from a young age. I believe that God really orchestrated events and enabled me to do as well as I did as testimony to our young people and the parents that God gives strength and ability to those who wish to learn His word.
My prayer is that those who watched me would not think that I did something great, or that it takes exceptional talent to do something like this, but that they would know that it is only because of God's grace, which He grants to those who seek Him. My prayer is that my experiences would encourage many young people to start to learn God's word. It doesn't matter how many verses you learn or whether or not you receive an earthly reward. God's word does not return void. No time invested in it is a waste.
And I also want to encourage all the parents out there: Encourage your children to study the Scripture. More than knowing what the Bible says, they should know why what the Bible says actually matters for their lives. It doesn't matter how well they do in competition, but whether or not they can actually live out the truths in them. Any time they spend in Scripture can change their hearts. I was able to compete in the Bible Bee for nine years. For the majority of those years, my name wasn't called on stage as one of the finalists or winners, I didn't get any trophies,or awards. But what might have seemed like a failed effort, was actually time that God used to take and mold me into His image, when He revealed Himself to me.
I'm 18 years old now, so this is my last year competing in this particular event because of the age resrtriction there. But my prayer for my life is that I will never cease to be a student of God's word, but would always be devoted to searching out the Scriptures and applying them to my life. I ask that all of you to keep me in prayer that I may live out the truths that I've learned. To whom much is given, much is required. Please pray I would live worthy of what I've received.
~Febah Mathew
I've been participating in the National Bible Bee for nine years now, and over the years I've learned between 6000-8000 verses.By God's providence, my parents had taught me and my sister since we were very young to memorize chapters and books of the Bible, which we would recite at home and at church and at conferences. Because they put in the time and effort to teach us to learn God's word, when the Bible Bee started in 2009, my sister and I were excited to participate. But the excitement didn't last long: the first year was really difficult for us. I was 10 years old, and we had around a 1000 verses to learn, (and my older sister had over 1600 verses to learn that year . With my mom's constant effort in teaching me and revising with me, I learned maybe half of the verses and I was very certain that I didn't want to do it again. But when we went to the competition, my parents and I were inspired to see many yound kids there having spent most of their summer time in studying and memorizing the Word of God. The whole atmosphere in Washington DC that year with hundreds of families, joining together from across the country, around the Word of God to proclaim it passionately, was so inspiring to all of us. And so we came back, year after year, by God's grace.
Over the years I have spent thousands of hours memorizing and studying the Bible. We also came to know many of the particpants and their families closer, over the years. They were actually communicating in different ways why all this mattered for their daily lives. They made a big impact in my life also.
Over the years God showed me what I was missing. I felt like God was dealing with me through His Word more and more, to save my soul. What I found out was that this was more than just a mental exercise, or something to do so my parents would be happy, or so everyone in church would tell me how smart I was. I found out for myself that the word of God is living and active, sharper than a two-edged scord; that it discerned the thoughts and intents of the heart; that it showed me who I was, and who God is. And I experienced for myself that it was impossible to spend all those hours in the living word of God and be satisfied in not being changed by it.
The best part of being a part of the Bible Bee and studying the Scripture was that the entire time, the whole emphasis was always on the meaning and application of the Bible. My parents always told us that memorizing the Scripture was not as important as living out what it said. In our study, it was always emphasized that more than memorizing bits of information to recite in a competition, we should know why all of this mattered. I truly believe that spending all this time studying the Bible was the most important thing for my spiritual growth over the years.
With regards to the BibleBee Game Show which was another event put together by the same Organization for National Telecast/Webcast , and winning 2nd place in the Final, that whole experience was really just God's grace and mercy poured out on me. I am by
no means the most competitive contestant out there. I have known many other kids for many years and I personally knew how much they had studied, for many hours every day for several months. I didn't have any more intelligence or ability than anyone else to come ahead of them. Even being able to do all of this and study was because of God's grace, and because my parents had cultivated that habit of memorizing Scripture from a young age. I believe that God really orchestrated events and enabled me to do as well as I did as testimony to our young people and the parents that God gives strength and ability to those who wish to learn His word.
My prayer is that those who watched me would not think that I did something great, or that it takes exceptional talent to do something like this, but that they would know that it is only because of God's grace, which He grants to those who seek Him. My prayer is that my experiences would encourage many young people to start to learn God's word. It doesn't matter how many verses you learn or whether or not you receive an earthly reward. God's word does not return void. No time invested in it is a waste.
And I also want to encourage all the parents out there: Encourage your children to study the Scripture. More than knowing what the Bible says, they should know why what the Bible says actually matters for their lives. It doesn't matter how well they do in competition, but whether or not they can actually live out the truths in them. Any time they spend in Scripture can change their hearts. I was able to compete in the Bible Bee for nine years. For the majority of those years, my name wasn't called on stage as one of the finalists or winners, I didn't get any trophies,or awards. But what might have seemed like a failed effort, was actually time that God used to take and mold me into His image, when He revealed Himself to me.
I'm 18 years old now, so this is my last year competing in this particular event because of the age resrtriction there. But my prayer for my life is that I will never cease to be a student of God's word, but would always be devoted to searching out the Scriptures and applying them to my life. I ask that all of you to keep me in prayer that I may live out the truths that I've learned. To whom much is given, much is required. Please pray I would live worthy of what I've received.
~Febah Mathew
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